The Betrothal
by Black Amethyst
Summary: Heero and Duo are betrothed against their will. As things progress, they become more endeared to one other. But their union will set in motion a calamitous chain of events. MM,ShonenAi Incomplete
1. Part I

Hi there. Okay, so… this is my… counts… fourth Gundam Wing fic? Actually, it's my fourth fic ever… So be nice ;;.. I'm not sure where the idea for this one came from.. It popped up after I watched Alien vs. Predator……….I have NO idea…okay, so… For the lack of inspiration, I'm just gonna say that Duo's from Sanq, and Heero's from Nihon. Okay? Okay..

Pairings: 1+2… eventual 1x2x1  
Warnings: Shounen ai/yaoi, fluff, AU, OOC-ish? Perhaps a tad bit of humor if I get in the mood... maybe more, I dunno.  
Disclaimers: Do I even need to write this part? If I owned GW, I wouldn't be writing fanfics for it.

On to the yumminess!

**The Betrothal, Part I — By: Black Amethyst**

Duo sat, seemingly calm, in the plush velvet chair of his father's private office. His form was rigid; his face was turned down with his fringe of bangs effectively covering his face. His hands lay clenched into fists in his lap—knuckles getting whiter by the second. Tumults of emotion were raging within him. The strongest of which was roiling in a hot, fiery mass in the pit of his leaden stomach. With each passing moment the heat rose until it came to a point where he felt he would explode. And explode he did.

"NO! No fucking way in hell! I won't do it!"

Duo turned on his heel and marched out of the room, slamming the door as an afterthought in his rage. The king sighed despondently, rubbing his temples in agitation. That hadn't gone at all as well as he'd hoped it would. Although, he hadn't expected his son to accept the proposal quietly, either.

Yes, proposal.

A decade ago, a contamination of the water supply resulted in a severe drought and a shortage of harvested crops. Families turned on friends in the battle for food and many died from the shortage. Nations accused one another of withholding goods from other countries in need. The arguments sparked rivalries between the nobles, which in turn led to their respective nations becoming involved in the row. Battles were fought and many lives lost over many years in the name of acquiring and distributing food that didn't exist. The long era of war had just ended, and the battlefield had left its scars on the friendship of two of the most powerful kingdoms in the land. The lands of the Proud Yuy family of Nihon and the Maxwell family of Sanq had always been close friends and allies. However, the war had left their relationship on shaky ground. Neither monarch wanted their relationship with the other to crumble and fall into hatred, so an idea was brought forth to bring their two families together.

A marriage.

A bonding of the two families would surely reinforce the ties of friendship that the bloody past had tempered, or so they thought. However, there was one problem with the idea: the lack of available female relatives. King Mortimer(1) Maxwell had two sons and no daughters, and his only niece had wed a few years earlier. King Kenji Yuy also had only two sons and no daughters or nieces. The suggestion of their two sons being wed at first shocked the ruler of Sanq. It took much persuasion to finally get him to agree to it. Now, sitting in his library with a horrible pulsing in his skull, he wished he'd not have given in so easily.

He leaned back in his chair and sighed. Rubbing his face with one hand, he reached for his com link with the other.

"Lynda," he groaned through his hand.

"Yes, sire?" Came the sweet, melodical voice of his secretary.

"I need to speak with Kenji."

"Right away, my lord."

Heero stared at his father with cold, unfeeling eyes.

"You did _what_?" he hissed between clenched teeth.

"Really now, Heero," his father said while brushing a stray lock of hair out of his face. "I really didn't think you'd be so upset. Given your…" he frowned as he searched for the word. "…preferences."

Heero stood abruptly, the suddenness of his movement causing his chair to topple backwards. His eyes narrowed dangerously.

"It's not so much as my preferences," he began softly, his voice rising with each syllable. "As it is that you did it without my consent! How could you go behind my back like that!"

He stormed out of the room, knocking aside any unfortunate objects that happened to be in his path as he went. He stopped at the door and turned back to his father with rage evident in his eyes.

"You betrayed my trust, father."

He disappeared behind the slammed door of his father's bedchamber. Kenji hung his head in his hands. He had really expected that to go better.

A beeping coming from his desk shook him from his disappointment. Growling to himself, he made his way over to it and clicked on the vid-link.

"Yes?" He said as the face of some random guard stared back at him.

"My lord," she began and bowed her head respectively. "His Highness King Mortimer is on the line. He requests to speak with you."

Kenji huffed in agitation. "Very well, put him through."

"Yes, sire," the guard bowed again and the screen flared to static for a moment before the face of his friend lit up the screen.

"Kenji!" Mortimer cried jovially. The grinning face of his friend forced a grin out of him.

"Hello, Morte," the words fell from his mouth a little unenthusiastically despite his grin.

"Ouch, just told your kid, huh?" the Sanq monarch said with a sympathetic smile

"Yes, you?"

"Yeah."

"And how'd he take it?"

"Could've been better," he sighed. "Yours?"

"Same."

Silence reigned for a few moments before Kenji pushed on.

"He says I betrayed him," he muttered under his breath. He looked up at the vid screen to see the other man busily trying to balance a pencil on his nose. He looked ridiculous, with his eyes crossed and staring intently at the pencil as though he could will it to be still.

"Meh, well," he replied when the pencil fell off. "My kid cussed me out pretty good for it."

Yuy's face drew into a sharp frown. "You allow such behavior?"

"Normally, no. I let it slide because I know that he needed to vent."

"I see."

Again the conversation fell into silence until it was pierced by a faint voice on the opposite end of the line.

"Ah, I have to go, the missus is calling," Mortimer said grinning.

"Alright, I'll see you next week I suppose."

"Yeah, until then! Bye!"

"Bye."

Kenji severed the link and sat down heavily in his chair.

This was going to be one hellacious week.

1. Okay... I wanted to tie in the whole 'death' thing with Duo's family. Mortimer short is Mort, and 'morte' is French for 'death'…. For anyone who didn't catch that ...

Uhm, okay, so that was Part I... I'm sorry that it was so short. I know that when we think kings and queens, most of us tend to think Middle Ages. I like that too, every now and again, but futuristic monarchies are cool, too. oo... Please tell me what you think. Love it? Hate it? Please review and give me something to go on. I'm a newbie writer, so go easy on me. Oh, I probably won't update for a while. But I will try! … Don't.kill.me.


	2. Part II

Whoo, part 2. Firstly, let me apologize for the first part. It was rushed and short and I should have taken more time with it. Gomen nasai! 90-degree angle bow Second of all, thanks to everyone that reviewed! You have no idea how good that makes me feel . Anyway, so far, our two little g-boys are pissed at their parents for setting them up to be married. Heh heh… So sue me… Oh, wait…no… don't do that… xx…

Pairings: 1+2, eventual 1x2x1  
Warnings: Shounen ai/yaoi, fluff, AU, OOC-ish? Perhaps a tad bit of humor if I get in the mood... maybe more, I dunno.  
Disclaimers: Do I even need to write this part? If I owned GW, I wouldn't be writing fanfics for it.

**The Betrothal, Part II — By: Black Amethyst**

Within the vast confines of Castle Maxwell, an indecipherable clump of limbs, clothing, and hair lay jumbled on a sofa in the recreation room. The figure appeared to be sleeping. Hilde crept up to it with a squeaky-bat in hand (1). Treading very softly, being sure not to awaken the lounging dimwit, she crept up and raised the toy high over her head. Just as the boy let out an inhuman snore, she thrust the bat with all her might.

"What the--?" Solo jumped as the bat squeaked against his head.

"Up and at 'em, lazy bones!" Hilde trilled as she repeatedly bashed her cousin. Shrill squeaks rang throughout the room. Solo somehow or another had the presence of mind to tackle Hilde and snatch the toy from her. "Wah!" Hilde shrieked as she fell to the ground.

"Wake me with up in the middle of my nap, will ya?" Solo inquired his now thoroughly pinned cousin. "I guess I'm gonna have to teach ya a lesson, huh?"

Hilde shook her head wildly. "No! No no no! Not that! NO!"

Hilde's pleas were lost, however. "Kyah!" Hilde screamed as Solo began attacking her most ticklish areas. "Dammit, Solo!" she cried between breaths. "Get… ahahah! OFF!"

She writhed helplessly and desperately to get away. She was rapidly becoming prisoner to Solo's masterful tickling techniques. Her breath was beginning to hitch. She kicked and lashed at Solo as she looked around for a way out. "Hahaha.. Let.. Ahahah!—me go!"

She had a plan half-formulated in her mind. She was unable to carry it out however. The door suddenly burst open and the two teens immediately stopped their goofing off. Duo stormed through the room stomping looking for all the world like a toddler in a temper tantrum. Duo reached the other end of the room and the door on that side received similar treatment to the first.

Solo blinked rapidly in confusion. His younger brother had been muttering a string of colorful curses underneath his breath. He was obviously oblivious to anyone in his path. The two cousins in the room looked at each other in obvious confusion. They shrugged at one another before getting up and peeking their heads out of the door to look spy on Duo. Duo had reached his room, and he quickly locked himself inside. Solo shook his head at his younger brother's juvenile behavior. He scratched his nose while idly wondering what could have been the reason for all of that anger. He shrugged his shoulders, decided that he really didn't care on way or the other and was about to continue torturing Hilde.

"Solo," his cousin said as she sat up beside him. "Do you have any idea what that was about?"

He shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine." He looked back disinterestedly. "I say we leave him alone to work it out. It's never a good idea to annoy Duo when he's already angry."

His cousin nodded.

"At any rate," Solo groaned as he stood and dusted himself off. "Why don't we grab some grub? I'm hungry."

"Mmhmm." The two of them turned to walk down towards the kitchens.

"SOLO!"

Solo stopped mid-step and looked over his shoulder. A red faced, almost hyperventilating Duo met his eyes.

"Hey, lil' bro!" Solo grinned brilliantly and flashed a V-sign.

"Did you know?" his brother hissed while pointing an accusing finger at him.

"Eh?" Solo again blinked in confusion.

"Goddammit, I asked you a fucking question!"

Solo turned to completely face Duo and placed a hand on his hip. "Little bro, what are you going on about?"

Duo suddenly seemed to forget about Solo's presence. Instead, he turned his attention on his cousin.

"Did you know, Hilde?"

Hilde stood rooted to the spot. "Duo," she began slowly, soothingly. She shot a panicked look in Solo's direction. "Neither of us have any idea what's going on."

Duo muttered another curse under his breath and glared at the floor. It was a wonder that the intensity of his gaze didn't burn a hole into the carpet.

"Uhm," Solo began. "Did we know what?"

Duo's eyes shot up and bored into Solo's. His older brother squeaked and flinched away a bit. Then, something in Duo's eyes seemed to flicker. His shoulders suddenly sagged a bit as though he was extremely tired. A hand came up to rub his face. He looked at his brother and cousin between his fingers.

"Come on to my room, I'll tell you there." His voice was hollow. He turned around and waved his hand in invitation for them to follow.

Hilde and Solo exchanged a bewildered look before obediently following.

Duo made double sure that the locks on his door were securely in place before turning to his two waiting relatives. Duo groaned inwardly at their expectant gazes. 

_Oh, joyous_, he thought to himself. He crossed the room and sat gingerly on the edge of his tousled bed. In his earlier rage, he had sought to destroy anything that he thought might alleviate some anger. His bed sheets had been only one of those unfortunate objects that now littered his room.

He peeked up through his bangs at the room's other two occupants. Duo had no intention whatsoever of breaking this silence. He anxiously awaited one of them to initiate the interrogation.

It was Hilde who spoke first.

"Well?" She demanded with hands on hips. "Are you going to tell us what in the world is going on or are you going to sit there looking like a pitiful, abused puppy?"

Duo growled to himself thinking something along the lines of,_ I'll look like an abused puppy if I damn well want to!_ Instead of voicing his mental reply, he took a deep breath and flopped back onto the bed.

"It's dad… he…" Duo rubbed at his face not knowing how to continue. "He kind of… gave me away."

Solo raised an eyebrow. "Come again?"

Duo sat up and looked Solo square in the eye. "I am now officially engaged to Prince Heero of Nihon."

At first nothing was said. There was no response except for the widening of two pairs of eyes…until Solo burst out into laughter.

"Ahahah! Duo! And Heero! Fwahaha!" Solo trailed off into fits of hysteria, occasionally wiping at his eyes. Hilde's mouth twitched, but she somehow managed to retain some shred of composure.

"Duo," her voice wavered as she desperately tried to mask the chuckle threatening to spill from her lips. "Are you serious?"

"Yes. I wish I wasn't, but… yeah." Duo glared at his brother who was now rolling on the floor in his mirth.

"Shit, Duo, that's rich!" He managed to choke out before diving back into laughter.

Duo stood and clenched his jaw to keep from seeing red. "You idiot! It's not funny!"

"Actually, Duo," Hilde said, now unable to control her amusement. "It's hilarious!"

She shrieked her laughter and fell down beside Solo.

Duo suddenly deflated and his arms hung limply by his sides. "Et tu, Hilde?"

1. Two things here:  
a. "Tread softly and carry a big stick." Cookies to whoever recognizes this quote!  
b. I call those plastic bats you get at the fair squeaky-bats.

Okay, I try to be consistent, but it's hard for me. I have a lot of work being dumped on me, so I'm not gonna be writing too much. I'm sorry, but that's just how it is sigh. Oh, and once again, I'm sorry for any grammatical errors and whatnot. I apologize for my tendency to write short, choppy chapters. It's this little devil called "writers' block." It's such a bitch. sniffle Please review


	3. Part III

First order of business! Tosses cookies to everyone who guessed correctly Thanks for the reviews! They make me feel all warm inside . I sit here, listening to my FFXI OST. I'm feeling a bit lazy, which isn't very good. Work! I need to work! rips hair out GAS PRICES! My god... dies…. I apologize for that… I watched this movie recently named 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.' If you haven't watched it, you need to. It's excellent… anyway…

Pairings: 1+2, eventual 1x2x1  
Warnings: Shounen ai/yaoi, fluff, AU, OOC-ish? We all love a nose-bleeding Wufei, ne? xD  
Disclaimer: Do I even need to write this part? If I owned GW, I wouldn't be writing fanfics for it. Duh.

Proceed!

**The Betrothal, Part III — By: Black Amethyst**

Wufei was currently lounging on one of the plush sofas in his uncle's library. On his lap was perched an antique novel that he had managed to salvage from the disarray of chaos that the librarians called the bookshelves. He had spent many hours searching for this one book, and thus far he was yet to be disappointed in his efforts. The story had captivated him to the point that he hadn't put the book down for the past six hours. Wufei's eyes scanned the lines quickly, trying desperately to read as much as he could at once. Once his eyes traveled a little lower on the page, his eyes widened and his breathing hitched. He felt his face burn at the erotic love scene that his mind was now envisioning. Wufei buried his nose deeper in the book as though afraid that it would be snatched away from him before he would be able to finish. His face reddened even more after reading the next few paragraphs, and he was almost certain that he was sporting a nosebleed.

If possible, the temperature in the room seemed to rise as Wufei came close to the end of the chapter. He let out a low mewl of anticipation at the words he was quickly scanning. _Oh, my god_, he thought to himself after he had read an exceptionally graphic sentence. He leaned his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes, allowing that vision to replay itself over and over in his mind. Just as he was about to continue reading, he was jerked out of his thoughts by the library door being slammed shut. He sat up quickly with a small utterance of surprise and stuffed the book under the pillow. He placed another book that he had set aside on the table into his lap and tried desperately to appear absorbed in that.

He got himself settled just as his cousin walked calmly around the couch he was sitting on and set himself down in a chair opposite Wufei. Wufei waited a moment before chancing a look at his cousin. He was sitting with his chin propped up by his palm, staring pensively at the fireplace. Wufei smirked to himself and pretended to mark his place in the book before placing it back on the table.

"My, my," Wufei said as he removed his reading glasses(1). "What's got you all in a huff?"

His cousin's steel blue eyes flashed up at him. "I am not in a huff."

Wufei's smirk widened. "Oh, really? Then why are you acting so juvenile?"

The boy's messy brown hair covered his eyes for a moment as he sat up fully. His eyes narrowed. "I am not acting juvenile."

Wufei snorted. "Oh, come on, Heero. For you, slamming a door is as juvenile as a regular person throwing a hissy fit."

Heero's eyes bored into Wufei's. The glare promised pain, but Wufei held his ground. He knew his cousin better than anyone, and he wasn't about to let this strange deviance in behavior go uninvestigated. Heero's look didn't soften as he allowed his gaze to travel back to the fire.

"I've been… betrothed."

If Wufei had still been holding the book, he would have dropped it.

He gaped for a moment before regaining his composure. "What? When? To who?"

"As of today," Heero rubbed his face with his hands as though he could erase the thoughts. "I am now officially engaged to Prince Duo Maxwell."

Wufei sat stricken. He marveled at his cousin's calmness. If it had been him, Wufei knew that someone's head would be rolling right now. He sank back into the cushion and stared at nothing. Wufei knew all too well what Heero was currently going through. When he was only thirteen, his parents had promised him to a woman whom he had never even seen before. He had been enraged by his parents' determination to marry him off. It was because of that that Wufei was able to sympathize with Heero. Wufei took a moment to try to visualize Heero being married to some woman that neither of them knew, and then something clicked.

"Wait a minute, you're engaged to a boy?"

Heero's jaw visibly clenched. He hissed out an affirmative between gritted teeth. Wufei again leaned his head back and placed his arm over his eyes. "How can you be so calm about this?"

Heero shrugged and stood. He made his way over to the fire and placed a hand on the mantle. He grabbed the poker and began prodding at the flickering flames. "I won't deny that I'm a little…"—Heero gave the logs a particularly violent jab—"…upset. You and I both know that such an arrangement is vital to our two families' lasting friendship." He turned to face Wufei. "The war has left everyone on precarious ground. I know this is needed."

"That doesn't mean that you have to be so accepting of it, though," Wufei said as he folded his arms over his chest.

Heero placed the poker back in the stand and sighed. He stood still, watching the flickering flames licking at the logs. "Yeah."

Wufei brought his glasses up and began to chew thoughtfully on the plastic loop.

"I think I should use the excuse of being a teenager and go sulk in my room for a few days."

Sudden, harsh laughter erupted from Wufei as he stared at his cousin's back but it faded quickly. He stood and placed his hand on his cousin's shoulder. "Perhaps it won't be as bad as we're making it out to be."

"Duo isn't interested in other boys. He'll be raving mad."

Wufei blinked in surprise. "You've met him before?"

"No," Heero said as he absently rubbed the back of his head. "but Dorothy has."

The raven haired boy cringed at the name.

"He was all that she would talk about for days," Heero continued. "If Dorothy was that captivated by him, I'm terrified to think of how out of touch he'll be."

Wufei gazed at the Japanese boy sympathetically. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure it'll be fine."

"I'm going to go angst now," Heero said as he turned to leave. Wufei chuckled humorlessly.

"If you need anything, call me."

"Yeah."

Wufei watched him go. Thoughts of Heero's seemingly bleak future weighed heavily on his mind. He shook his head and cleared those thoughts from his mind. He leaned toward the door, cautiously listening for Heero's retreating steps. Once he was sure that his cousin was truly gone, he hurriedly picked up his earlier novel and quickly finished the love scene he had been so engrossed in before.

(1). Le gasp! Pervy Wufei! Who would have thought? xD Most of you have read Episode Zero, so I don't really need to remind you that Wufei was more of a nerd before he became involved in the war. I love the pics of him with glasses. -

Merf… Okay, I know it's been a while, and I'm sorry. I tried to take my time with this one so it wouldn't be as jumbled as the first chapter. I'm still unhappy about that one. I think I'm going to edit it. Gar… whatever. It's rainy and I'm drowsy so I'm going to bed. Oyasumi D


	4. Part IV

Oh em gee! It's been months, hasn't it? I'd first of all like to apologize to anyone who checked back and saw that I hadn't updated. I'm so very sorry. My computer suffered a horrible fate over the summer. It died a very violent death at the hands of some malicious virus. D I'm still mourning the death and loss of all my original writings along with my fanfics. It took FOREVER to get the stupid thing working again. But now it is and I'm back! Yay for me! xD

I'd like to address a question that was posted in the reviews. I don't recall who, but someone asked if Trowa and Quatre were going to be in this fic. They **will **be in this fic. I simply haven't introduced them yet. xP

I've gone back and changed a few things. Most noticeable is the new introduction of chapter 1. I felt the other one was a little too abrupt. -;; This chapter will hopefully be much longer than the others. I think I write differently now… It's been a while, but I've still been writing. I don't know. I'm not sure yet, we'll see where it goes. P

Pairings: 1+2, 3+4, eventual 1x2x1 & 3x4  
Warnings: Shounen ai/yaoi, fluff, AU, OOC-ish?  
Disclaimer: Do I even need to write this part? If I owned GW, I wouldn't be writing fanfics for it. Duh.

Read on, my darlings!

**The Betrothal, Part IV — By: BlackAmethyst**

Mortimer Maxwell, king and high ruler of the Sanq Kingdom, was currently being assaulted by three of the royal caterers. The one to his left was adamantly demanding an answer to which cloth the king found most desirable. Another standing on his right was continuously shaking three different types of wine glasses in his face. The third standing in front of him wore a rather bored expression as he inquired about which foods were to be served during the main course. He blinked blearily at his three aggressors and tried in vain to focus on the subjects at hand.

After allotting an appropriate amount of time for their sons to recover from the initial shock of being engaged, both Kenji and Mortimer decided that it was high time for the two of them to be officially introduced and their betrothal made public. After some initial discussion, it was decided for the ceremony to be held in the Maxwell Palace. The monarch of Sanq had graciously accepted the responsibility, finding it to be a needed distraction to the anxiety of the impending meeting of the two princes. However, he had not considered all of the stress and aggravation that was sure to result in all the preparations needed for such a significant event. He somehow felt that he had been swindled by Kenji. The other monarch hadn't seemed all too keen on being responsible for the ritual, which Mortimer at first found odd but now completely understood.

_That damn scheming, conniving bastard. Leaving me to handle everything_.Mortimer chewed on his lip thoughtfully as the two men and woman in front of him continued demanding him to make a choice. Mortimer instead thought of the ways he could possibly exact his retribution on the other monarch when he and his convoy arrived the next day.

"_Your Majesty_!"

The king snapped to attention as the woman holding the cloth's face drew down into a sharp frown. He attempted to smile, but only managed something that resembled a pained grimace. "Yes, Helen?"

"You can't very well expect us to plan this event all on our own!" she rasped impatiently as she situated a gnarled hand on a protruding hip. "You've already delayed long enough. This is your son's _future_, my lord. It's very important!"

Helen was right, of course. Helen was always right. She had been with his family since he was a child. Helen was assigned to him as his nanny when he was young, and he had again bestowed that title on her when he sired his own children. She was a very thin woman, having spent her years as a working woman in many stressful occupations, mainly having to deal with Mortimer's adolescent misbehavior. But she was as dear to him as his own mother, and he earnestly valued her opinions and thoughts.

"Of course," he sighed. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and turned his full attention again to the three people in front of him. The task soon proved tedious, and he again lost his focus.

"_Mortimer_!" Helen stamped to accentuate the reprimand.

"A-yi-yi," he muttered as he rubbed furiously at his temples.

"Here," came a honey voice to his left as a soft hand was placed on his shoulder. "Let me help."

Mortimer turned to face the newcomer and a genuine smile spread across his features. Sable, his loving wife and best friend, had come to his rescue. She regarded the three caterers with mild interest. She considered each briefly before giving her answers. In five seconds, she accomplished the task that Mortimer had been trying to complete for the past fifteen minutes.

After the three had gone about their business, she turned to face her husband. "Hard day at work, dear?"

Mortimer slumped in mild relief. "Thanks so much. I don't know what's wrong with me." He rubbed absently at his face. "I feel so distracted lately."

"You're concerned for Duo," she affirmed. He nodded glumly. "We all are. Has he talked to you lately?"

"He's been avoiding me like the bubonic plague."

Sable observed her husband's slightly askew hair and his ragged look. To any other person, it would seem as though the king were taking this in stride, but those who knew him could tell by his slightly disheveled state that he was extremely distraught.

His gaze suddenly locked onto her. "Do you think we did the right thing?"

She didn't answer. Instead, she sidled up to him and placed her head on his shoulder. Finding solace in her touch, he wrapped his arms around her and held her near. He allowed himself to relax a bit and let his thoughts drift with the growing concern he felt for his son.

Duo sat perched on a bench built into the circular stone wall of the northernmost astronomy tower. This was a safe haven for him. This tower alone had escaped the renovations of the palace over centuries, and was the only stone left in the structure. His legs were pulled up to his chest, his arms encircling them with his chin resting on his knees. A scowl was etched onto his features, giving him a look of murderous intent. The expression seemed to be a constant factor of Duo's behavior of late. So did slamming doors, heavy stomping, random objects being broken, and lashing out at innocent bystanders. Duo huffed and buried his nose between his knees, pressing his eyes into the caps. He knew he was being irrational and that most of his behavior was unwarranted, but accepting that didn't make him feel any better. How the hell did they expect him to act after being signed off to some foreign prince that he'd never met?

He glared at a particularly odd shaped stone placed near the right side of the bench he was sitting on. It had proved itself to be an object of interest to him since he first started to go to the tower to be alone a few days ago. It didn't resemble any of the other stones, as it had a different sheen when the sun hit it. It seemed glossier, and had a shape that reminded him of a disfigured doughnut, with an asymmetrical recess in the very center. Duo eyed it with rising interest, trying to determine the purpose of such an oddity among the normality of the other stone slabs surrounding it. With an idle upturning of his left shoulder, he decided that the object didn't merit that much attention.

Instead, he turned his gaze over the stone barrier and out onto the horizon. Smoke rising from sporadic factories dotted the sky. The landscape was strewn with houses and buildings of every shape and size. People buzzed along the streets in their own quiet business, unaware of the raptor gaze fixed on them from hundreds of feet above. Duo watched the free subjects of his homeland meander and banter in the market just outside of the main gates to the east. He silently envied the liberties granted them by being born as a simple citizen. They had the right to chose who they wanted to be their partners in life. Duo pined for that freedom. He hated being forced into a marriage with a person that he knew absolutely nothing about, save for that he was a prince like himself.

Duo again scanned the view laid out before him. He watched hawks dive into the cotton fields to the south and horses grazing in the foothills to the north. But his gaze was suddenly riveted to the west, were the sun was beginning to sink behind the glittering ocean. The sky lit up in a burst of hues. Oranges, reds, pinks, and yellows lined the sky as the sun made its decent. The sparkling water lit up in a blaze as the sun seemed to meet with the earth. Duo sighed and rested his elbows on top of the stone, cradling his face in his palms. Unknowingly, a smile stole onto his face. He adored sunsets, and found that this one helped to drain all the stress and anxiety out of him. In these moments of twilight, Duo felt most at ease. But the magic didn't last long—the sun all too quickly disappeared below the ocean.

Duo turned his gaze up, hoping to find a hint of stars in the now deep mauve colored sky. He could spot maybe two or three, but no more because of the garish lights of the city. He turned away and placed his feet on the ground, steadying himself before he stood to return to the castle below. He reflected on his behavior of the past few days, and the circumstances leading up to that behavior. He thought of the war and of the many events hinging on this union. He lowered his head so that his chin nearly touched his chest. Despite all his objections and rebellious actions, deep down, Duo knew that this was needed.

It still didn't mean that he liked it, but he decided to try and deal with it better.

With this new resolve in mind, he stood. Perhaps it wouldn't be as bad as he thought it would. Maybe Heero would be interesting and fun to be around. Even if they were nothing more than friends, it would make the situation at least bearable. Either way, he'd find out tomorrow. Convincing himself that he wouldn't judge the other prince before he met him, Duo made his way down the twisting stairwell of the tower and through the corridors to the lavish dining hall.

Having grown tired of being kept in the dark about his fiancée, Heero decided to confront the only person in the palace who seemed to have some sort of knowledge of the boy.

Dorothy.

Heero shuddered at the thought of having to deal with the deranged woman, but deemed it a necessary action.

He trudged slowly through the corridors, making a list of the questions he wanted to ask in his mind. So many questions raced through his mind. There were so many things he didn't know about this boy who he was to share the rest of his life with. His feet led him to Dorothy's door before he was quite ready. Drawing a deep breath and slowly releasing it, he lifted a hand and gently rapped the back of his knuckles on the frame.

A soft voice bid him enter the room. He hesitantly twisted the knob and stepped over the threshold into Dorothy's chambers.

Dorothy sat at the end of her bed with her gaze fixed absently on a book resting on her lap. Her strange eyebrows were drawn down in concentration of whatever she was reading. A waterfall of pale blonde hair was pulled back from her face by the ever present band and cascaded around her shoulders to pool around her. Heero stepped apprehensively forward and closed the door. After a few moments of silence, he cleared his throat to make himself known.

Dorothy's eyes dragged up to him, as though she had only just acknowledged his existence.

"Heero," she sighed softly, a slight smirk started to crawl onto her face. "To what do I owe this unexpected visit?"

Heero shifted uncomfortably. He hated talking to Dorothy. Her soft words and lingering glances made him feel dirty somehow. "I wish to discuss something with you."

"Really." She casually turned a page in her book. "What?"

The prince considered his words before deciding that a direct approach would probably be best. "I want you to tell me about Duo."

Dorothy's eyes again drifted up from her book. Her gaze fixed somewhere on the wall before her. "Duo," she breathed softly, the name sounding eerily like a soft plea. A wicked grin crossed her face. "Oh, yes. I know Duo."

"What's he like?" Heero asked. He was unnerved by both the fiendish look on her face and his own desperation to know more about the other prince.

A soft peal of laughter permeated the room. Dorothy's head swiveled to face Heero again.

"My dear prince," said she. "Why ever would I tell you something like that?"

Heero's jaw flexed as he ground his teeth together. "I simply wish to know more about the boy I am to marry. That is all."

Dorothy regarded him silently for a moment. Her lips twitched and she threw her head back and let out a low, malicious laugh.

"Oh, Heero," she said after regaining herself. "How I love seeing you squirm." She turned her attention back to her book. "No…" She scanned a few lines and flipped the page. "I don't think I'll tell you about Duo." Her gaze locked on to his with a nefarious gleam in her eyes. "I'd much prefer to see you sweat it out."

A loud grunt of effort rang through the air as a shining object arched in an indecipherable blur. It clanged together with its metal twin, sending shuddering tremors up the wielder's arm. Sweat trickled in a fine line down a sculpted bicep as the two males held their weapons crossed in a deadlock. A mouth parted to show gritted teeth as a feral growl rumbled deep from a throat. With a flick of the wrist, the heated male effectively dislodged his opponent's weapon. Chest heaving, the raven haired boy glanced to the side where his katana lay ten feet away. His adversary stood rooted in the same position after disarming him, with his sword held slightly out to the side.

The boy with the more angular features drew his eyebrows together and carefully studied his counterpart. Still panting from the exertion, he said, "You're really in a tiff over this, aren't you?"

The other boy lowered his sword and used his other wrapped hand to wipe the sweat from his brow. He made his way to the edge of the room and sat heavily down onto an ornately carved bench. He dug around in an ice chest and produced two water bottles. Tossing one to his cousin, he downed half the contents of his own.

"Did you talk to Dorothy?" The fine featured male asked.

The Prussian eyed prince scoffed harshly. He poured some water onto his hand before reaching back to rub it over his neck. "She wouldn't give me a straight answer."

The other male tilted his head slightly to one side. He sat beside his cousin and sat in quiet contemplation for a few moments. "What did she say?" he asked after a lengthy silence.

"Not much of anything." The prince stretched, resulting in a few popping joints. "She's enjoying hanging this over my head."

"She must have given you something to go on."

Heero jerked violently at the wraps on his left hand. "Only that she finds Duo intoxicating."

Wufei chuckled softly. "Are you frightened to meet him then, Heero?"

Heero glared at nothing in particular. In fact, he found Dorothy's adamant interest in Duo quite disturbing. She was not the kind of person to praise anyone lightly, and the fact that she fixedly adored Duo was more than cause for concern.

Heero ran through his conversation with Dorothy in his mind over and over, trying to piece together something about the boy that he was to be married to. No matter how many times he examined the discussion, he couldn't find anything more to it.

He had become increasingly irritable the closer the day of the introduction ceremony came. He was beginning to feel frantic, desperately seeking a way out of his predicament. It felt as though he was locked in a cage, and with every passing day, the bars were closing in on him.

Heero tipped the bottle of water over his head. He shook his mop of hair, flinging drops of water in every direction. Gently rubbing his thigh where his cousin had clipped him earlier, he asked, "Have you finished packing yet?"

Wufei was following his example by pouring water over himself. "Yes. When do we leave?"

"First thing in the morning, " Heero replied as he stood. He crossed the room and grabbed the sheath to his sword and tossed Wufei's to him. Stowing his weapon, he turned toward the exit.

"I'm going to go shower. I'll see you at dinner."

Wufei grunted in response, as he was currently preoccupied with polishing his sword.

Heero stepped out into the marbled hallway and cringed as his footfall resounded off the walls. He hated this hall. You couldn't walk in it without your footsteps reverberating in painfully loud echoes down the entire stretch of the corridor. Heero preferred to be silent in his movements. He didn't like for people to know when he approached. It felt like an infraction of privacy when everyone knew where you were.

Treading as softly as possible, he traversed the extravagant hall. It was another reason Heero hated this hall. It served no purpose but that of getting from one point to another, and yet it was far too lavishly decorated for such a menial task. It wasn't even the main hallway, and it didn't lead to any exceptionally important rooms.

Heero seethed. He growled in the back of his throat at the repeating click of his boots against the marble.

"Growling at the floor again, Heero?"

Heero's head shot up. There, standing no more than ten feet in front of him, was his brother Trowa. He was fully donned in his personal gear. In his hand he held a long bow ornately carved with twisting vines; across his back was slung a quiver filled with a half dozen arrows. At his hip was his ever present sword. Heero's eyes widened slightly.

"How did—…" Heero cut himself off as he abruptly cursed himself at being distracted by such a trivial thing as his anger at the marble floor. Trowa could have easily been someone else. It could have been an assassin standing before him reading to take his life and he'd have been distracted and unarmed. An ideal target. But then again, Trowa was much more silent than Heero. His quiet movements had an eerie quality to them.

Secretly, it unnerved Heero.

Trowa apparently didn't see it as such a serious matter. He was shaking his head and laughing at his half brother. It wasn't a wide spread fact that Trowa and Heero didn't share the same blood. Few knew that Trowa was the child of their shared mother's previous marriage. Trowa's father was a mystery to the brothers. All that their mother would tell them was that Trowa's father had died in a raid during the war. Two years later, she remarried the king and Heero was born shortly thereafter.

"Looks as though you've just come from a sparring session with Wufei," Trowa said as he approached his brother. Heero nodded the affirmative. "Has he beaten you yet?"

"No," Heero again absently stroked his newly acquired bruise from Wufei. "He's getting better, though."

Trowa smiled. He clapped Heero on the shoulder. "It sure is good to be home. Back in the norm."

"It's good to have you back," Heero said as a genuine smile of happiness crossed his face. "I could really have used your company these passed few days."

Trowa's expression dimmed and his hand slipped off his brother's shoulder. "I've heard." His eyes narrowed as he surveyed his sibling. "How are you taking it?"

Heero rolled his shoulder in dismissal. "As well as any guy who just found out he's to be married to another boy for the rest of his life."

An uncomfortable silence weighed heavily down on them for the next few moments. Heero fidgeted as he searched for a way to change the subject.

"What was it like in the wastelands?" Heero asked as he continued walking down the hall.

Trowa trotted a bit to catch up. "Well," he began as he came up beside Heero. "They don't call them the Wastelands for nothing. The ground is all barren and cracked from the heat." His face scrunched up with disgust. "And there's this horrible, putrid stench."

"Sounds homely," Heero said as they turned a corner and came to an elaborate staircase. His personal bed chambers were up the stairs to the left, in a hall that _wasn't_ made of marble. "Did you find anyone out there?"

"No," Trowa sighed. "But, then again, we never really expected to in the first place."

There had been rumor recently of a group of people being sighted in the wastelands, and not a small group of people, either. The wastelands lay far to the east, away from any form of civilization. The king had been baffled from the reports of such a large number of people in such a harsh climate. He dispatched a team to ride out and find out the reasons for them being there and to administer aid if needed. The group rode out as ordered and searched for days, but to no avail. Not a single person had been sighted.

"Doesn't make any sense, does it?" Trowa asked as he wrapped his fingers together behind his head. "Why so many people would be out there."

Heero grunted noncommittally as they approached the door to his bedroom. "As much as I enjoy your company," Heero stated as he opened the door. "I'd rather not have you follow me while I get into the shower."

Trowa chuckled slightly. "I'll see you at dinner then."

He turned to walk away, but Heero stopped him. "Will you be accompanying me to the Maxwell Palace tomorrow?"

Trowa looked dumbfounded. "Of course I'm going, Heero. What would make you think I wasn't?"

Heero gripped the doorframe, his knuckles turning white. "This is a really hard time for me. Wufei's going to be there, but it's not the same as having you there."

Trowa gave him a soft look. "I'll be there," he said gently, then turned and walked back toward the staircase they had just ascended.

Heero somberly watched his brother's retreating form, his footsteps undetectable on the carpeted floor. When he disappeared below the steps, Heero closed himself inside his chambers.

Whoo! Finally I update! It feels like it's been years. cries I'm so sorry for the delay! I hope that this chapter was an improvement. I took my time on this one. I tried to make it better. After going back and reading it, I realized that it had a much more serious tone to it. I didn't mean to do that intentionally, it just happened. I've had an inspirational explosion since I picked up writing this story again. It's now going to be much longer than I had originally planned… Or at least I think it will be. I may yet change my mind again. Look forward toward their meeting in the next chapter! I've been thinking so much about how I'm going to do it that I've started dreaming about it. oo;; Uh, yeah… Oh! And I had such wonderful reviews. Thanks so much! Please review again!


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